Looking for a wet pet cichlid...

Ratlova30

AC Members
Apr 2, 2010
705
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Washington
Real Name
Chelsea
NOTE: I looked through about 4 pages of "wet pet info" when i did a search and didn't find the info I'm looking for so I hope you guys can help.

I just recently got into cichlids and I'm loving it so far. Right now I have 3 BP's whom are full of personality. I love it when I come into the room and the dash for a hiding place and then they'll poke their head out to see who it is. When the realize it's me then they happily swim out. So needless to say I love them very much but I would rather not support this hybrid in the future. My plans are of course to keep these guys for as long as they live, wouldn't ever dream of parting with them. Once they all pass away though is when I want to get a new species of cichlid. Any cichlids will have to be able to fit in a 55gal standard tank. I want them to have just as much personality/interaction with me as my parrots, if not more. I don't care if it's an only species tank. No Africans please. I don't want Discus. Also would like any future cichlids to be able to coexist with a breeding pair of bushynoses.

I know a lot of you will recommend upgrading to at least a 75gal and getting an Oscar. No need to recommend it because I'm already actively searching for a bare 75gal tank so that I can get an Oscar, but I'm still looking for something smaller that would fit in a 55gal in the future.

Also I'm worried when I get down to one BP will it be lonely? Will my bushynoses be enough companionship for a lone BP?

I may have more Q's later. Thanks.
 
Angels have a lot of personality, and get along with most other fish. You could probably only have 2 or 3 in a 55g though.
 
I love my severums :)
 
I fostered a Severum once for a couple weeks, he as well as two African cichlids(I know, bad) were in a tank I bought. I found the Severum and Africans separate homes. The Severum seemed very uninterested in me but who knows. I'll do research on those three fish. As far as Angels go, I don't think I want to go in that direction. I've always had plans to sneak in another tank after I get my Oscar so that I could have Angels but I don't want angels in this particular 55gal. Do the green terror and firemouths interact with you?
 
Does it absolutely HAVE to be a cichlid? Goldfish are kept as wet pets. Also, some people get a single piranha to interact with and it becomes a wet pet when it accepts you into its shoal. I don't know if firemouths interact but I was under the impression that green terrors do.
 
Piranha, I do have goldfish. I'm building a pond for them now, with all the goldfish intakes I've been getting a pond seems like what I need to do in order to keep them happy. I do agree they are very interactive, absolutely love them. I will have a large tank for any fancys I take in but right now I just have comets and commons, and trout! My trout babies are growing fast, really excited about them. But yeah definetly want this tank to be a cichlid tank. I have a lot of time to do research on exactly what I want, my BP's are young still.
 
Your BP's would b upset to know that your planning to replace them with.... IME the most "friendly" pet I've ever had was my JD, Trotsky. I had mine in a 55 which I don't really have problems with..... but hey, I'm not an expert on stocking. I know that you said chiclids, but DP's (dwarf puffers) are amazingly friendly....
 
I noticed that you have a few vacant 5 gallons, you could get a DP for one of those....
 
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